Podcasts about gospel because

On Gratitude (with thanks to St. Nicholai Velimirovich) Luke 17: 12-19 (The Ten Lepers, only one of whom returned) [Start with a meditation on the virtues of hard work and gratitude; hard work so that we can be proud of what we have done and foster an appreciation for the amount of effort that goes into the making and sustaining of things. This makes us grateful for what we have, and especially the amount of effort that goes into gifts that we receive from others. But what if these virtues break down? What if there was a society where hard work was not required and gratitude was neither expected nor offered? What if everything was both easy and taken for granted? Would this be a society comprised of real men and women, or of spoiled children? Would those who understood the need for virtue – and who cultivated it within their own lives – [would they] not weep when they saw the corruption that surrounded them?] We are taught through small things, not always being able to understand big ones. If we cannot understand how our souls cannot live for a moment without God, we can see how our bodies cannot live for a moment without air. If we cannot understand how we suffer a spiritual death when we go without prayer and the doing of good deeds, we can see how we suffer and die when we go without water and food. If we cannot understand why it is that God expects our obedience, we can study why it is that commanders expect obedience from their soldiers and why architects expect it from their builders. So it is with gratitude. If we do not understand why it is that God seeks our gratitude – and why He seeks it in both thought and action – we can look at why parents demand gratitude from their children. Why do parents require that their children thank them for everything, both large and small, that they receive from their parents? Are parents enriched by the gratitude of their children? Are they made more powerful? Is it to feed their egos? Does it give them more influence or status in society? No, parents are not enriched by their children's gratitude, and it takes time and effort to cultivate it in them. So parents spend time and effort on something that brings them no personal enrichment. Why do they do it? They do it for love. They do it for the good of their children so that they will grow up to be civilized and a benefit to society and to their own families. “A grateful man is valued wherever he goes; he is liked, he is welcomed, and the people are quick to help him.” What would happen if parents stopped teaching their children gratitude? How would their children turn out? How would society turn out? Isn't it every parent's obligation, then to demand gratitude from their children? And so it is with God. He does not need our thanks. There is no way to add to His infinite power. There is no way to add to his glory. He in no way benefits from the thanks that we give Him. And yet He demands that we thank Him every morning for getting us through the night. And yet He demands that we thank Him at every meal for the food on our tables. And yet He demands that we thank Him every Sunday for the gift of His Son. It seems like a lot, right? Couldn't we just skip it? No. Not if we want to be good. Not if we want to be holy. It isn't just about doing things to please God (He is what He is regardless of our actions), and it isn't really about doing things because we need to follow God's rules. It is about being (and becoming) good and doing what is right.  God desires that we be His children, through Christ, He has made this possible. Through our baptism and through our confession that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, we can join the ranks of the saints. This is not something to be taken for granted. We are like the lepers who encountered Christ in today's Gospel Because of our disease, we are not fit to join the saints and angels of God. But Jesus Christ has healed us of our disease. He has nailed our sins to the Cross. He has restored our fallen humanity to a state of grace. This is not something we have earned, nor is it something we deserve, nor is it something that Christ had to do. All ten of the lepers received the gift of health and their ability to walk once more with those who are well in a healthy community. Only one was grateful. Christ God suffered and died so that all of humanity could receive the gift of healing and eternal life, and the ability to live in everlasting joy with all the saints and angels. What is our response? Are we like the spoiled child that expects everything he receives (and more), that believes that everything is his due? If so, what kind of life can we expect to have? How can it not be stunted and incomplete? What kind of families and communities can we expect to grow around us? Or are we like the child who grows into the virtuous adult, the one who everyone likes to have in their company, who brings out the best in those around him? If so, will our lives not be better? Will our community not thrive?  Will we not have shown – through God's grace – that we belong with the saints?  Not because we are avoiding being punished or are being rewarded for following God's rules; but because the faith evidenced in following God's rules has allowed Him to grow within us.  As with the tenth leper, our faith has made us well.  We are not worthy of the gifts that God has given us. We accept them with open arms. We offer our thanks for them. And we join the ranks of holy ones and angels that continually proclaim His glory.  

On Gratitude (with thanks to St. Nicholai Velimirovich) Luke 17: 12-19 (The Ten Lepers, only one of whom returned) [Started with a meditation on the virtues of hard work and gratitude; hard work so that we can be proud of what we have done and foster an appreciation for the amount of effort that goes into the making and sustaining of things. This makes us grateful for what we have, and especially the amount of effort that goes into gifts that we receive from others. But what if these virtues break down? What if there was a society where hard work was not required and gratitude was neither expected nor offered? What if everything was both easy and taken for granted? Would this be a society comprised of real men and women, or of spoiled children? Would those who understood the need for virtue – and who cultivated it within their own lives – [would they] not weep when they saw the corruption that surrounded them?] We are taught through small things, not always being able to understand big ones. If we cannot understand how our souls cannot live for a moment without God, we can see how our bodies cannot live for a moment without air. If we cannot understand how we suffer a spiritual death when we go without prayer and the doing of good deeds, we can see how we suffer and die when we go without water and food. If we cannot understand why it is that God expects our obedience, we can study why it is that commanders expect obedience from their soldiers and why architects expect it from their builders. So it is with gratitude. If we do not understand why it is that God seeks our gratitude – and why He seeks it in both thought and action – we can look at why parents demand gratitude from their children. We do parents require that their children thank them for everything, both large and small, that they receive from their parents? Are parents enriched by the gratitude of their children? Are they made more powerful? Is it to feed their egos? Does it give them more influence or status in society? No, parents are not enriched by their children's gratitude, and it takes time and effort to cultivate it in them. So parents spend time and effort on something that brings them no personal enrichment. Why do they do it? They do it for love. They do it for the good of their children, so that they will grow up to be civilized and a benefit to society and their own families. “A grateful man is valued wherever he goes; he is liked, he is welcomed, and he people are quick to help him.” What would happen if parents stopped teaching their children gratitude? How would their children turn out? How would society turn out? Isn't it every parent's obligation, then to demand gratitude from their children? And so it is with God. He does not need our thanks. There is no way to add to His infinite power. There is no way to add to his glory. He in no way benefits from the thanks that we give Him. And yet He demands that we thank Him every morning for getting us through the night. And yet He demands that we thank Him at every meal for the food on our tables. And yet He demands that we thank Him that we thank Him every Sunday for the gift of His Son. It seems like a lot, right? Couldn't we just skip it? No. Not if we want to be human. Not if we want to be good. It isn't just about doing things to please God (He is what He is regardless of our actions), and it isn't really about doing things because we need to follow God's rules. It is about being (and becoming) good and doing what is right. God desires that we be His children, through Christ, He has made this possible. Through our baptism and through our confession that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, we can join the ranks of the saints. This is not something to be taken for granted. We are like the lepers who encountered Christ in today's Gospel Because of our disease, we are not fit to join the the saints and angels of God. But Jesus Christ has healed us of our disease. He has nailed our sins to the Cross. He has restored our fallen humanity to a state of grace. This is not something we have earned, nor is it something we deserve, nor is it something that Christ had to do. All ten of the lepers received the gift of health and their ability to walk once more with those who are well in a healthy community. Only one was grateful. Christ God suffered and died so that all of humanity could receive the gift of healing and eternal life, and the ability to live in everlasting joy with all the saints and angels. What is our response? Are we like the spoiled child that expects everything he receives (and more), that believes that everything is his due? If so, what kind of life can we expect to have? How can it not be stunted and incomplete? What kind of families and communities can we expect to grow around us? Or are we like the the child who grows into the virtuous adult, the one who everyone likes to have in their company, who brings out the best in those around him? If so, will our lives not be better? Will our community not thrive? Will we not have shown – through God's grace – that we belong with the saints? We are not worthy of the gifts that God has given us. We accept them with open arms. We offer our thanks for them. And we join the ranks of holy ones and angels that continually proclaim His glory.  

The number one reason to share the gospel is that we love God! Luke's account of Paul in Athens shows us that the apostle's love of God and jealously for his name fuels his passion for evangelism. As John Piper has famously quipped, "Missions exists because worship doesn't." Devotionables #350: Acts 17 Top 3 Reasons for Sharing the Gospel - Because we Love God and we are Jealous for His Name

Ephesians 6:18-20 — As Christians we have all experienced that moment where the Gospel all of a sudden makes sense. We did not know the Gospel. We could not understand the Gospel. And then it seemed to click. This is why the Gospel is so mysterious. Listen as Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones opens Ephesians 6:18-20 and unpacks the mystery of the Gospel, and why man, in his natural state, cannot comprehend it. Dr. Lloyd-Jones begins by asking the questions, “What is the mystery of the Gospel?” and “Why is the Gospel a mystery?” After delving through the Scriptures, he comes to the conclusion that the mystery of the Gospel is the mind of God. Why can man not understand the mystery of the Gospel? Because it is the very wisdom and mind of God. Man might consider himself wise, but no man is wise enough to understand the mind of the eternal God. At this point, Dr. Lloyd-Jones gives hope by providing the only way that man might understand the Gospel. Man must repent. Man must turn away from his foolish thinking that he can understand the mind of God, and consider himself rightly, as a fool. Once man repents and asks God to forgive him, then the Spirit will reveal to him the mystery of this Gospel and man will rejoice in it. Be encouraged by this clear explanation of the glorious mystery of the Gospel.

No one in the last 2000 years has experienced being redeemed, being born again, or being sanctified! Then why does Michael, Don, and Daniel preach the Gospel? Because there is power in the revelation! The Gospel is nothing more than a revelation of the cross and nothing less than the power of God.  This week […]

Why was Paul not ashamed of the Gospel? Because it is the power of God to salvation and reveals God’s righteousness by faith.

Passage: Acts 20:6-32 We Must Be Passionate About God's Word & the Gospel Because it Keeps Us on the Rails of Life and Gets Us Safely Home

Why do we need to be reminded of the Gospel? Because it is of first importance. We desperately need a Savior who died for our sins and rose again.

It’s absolutely imperative in order to have a strong footing in the battle against Satan, that we use the shoes of the Gospel of peace. Why do we need the shoes of the Gospel? Because it is the Gospel that is under attack. So as christians in God’s army we must clearly understand the gospel so that we can defend it against attack.

At Riverbluff we believe the GOSPEL of JESUS CHRIST is the hope of the world and that HIS Church is the instrument through which God has chosen to display and proclaim that GOSPEL. From cover to cover the Bible is about the GOSPEL. Dave Harvey has stated that “Everything in Scripture is either preparation for the Gospel, presentation of the Gospel, or participation in the Gospel.” But what is the Gospel? Because many Christians are under the deceptive misconception that “the Gospel” is really only for the “lost” we are launching a 6-week intensive effort to equip ourselves in the “Whole-Gospel”. We want to make the GOSPEL of JESUS CHRIST EXPLICIT; first in our own lives and families, second in Riverbluff Church, and then where we live, work, and play! “The Gospel” will be our focus as we gather over the next six weeks to worship The ONE who is the GOSPEL. Another key component of our journey into the Gospel will be Small Group studies here on campus and scattered all over our community. In those groups we’ll use an incredible DVD driven resource entitled THE EXPLICIT GOSPEL. You will miss out on so much of this experience if you are not in a group. So please, don’t miss out! Music courtesy of hooksounds.com